India look to keep series alive

The equations are simple. After two washouts, the seven-match series has been reduced to five and India, trailing 1-2, need to win in Nagpur on Wednesday to ensure that the final game in Bangalore on November 2 does not become a dead rubber. Australia have made their intentions clear and they are going to come out all guns blazing at the VCA Stadium to avenge their humiliation in the Test series earlier this year. India, on the other hand, have had a great year and they would not want to lose a series at home at the fag end of the season.

To cut a long story short, a cracker of a contest is on the cards in West India, with the sun shining bright and no forecast of rain for the entire week.

India: Another high-scoring series at home and the pacers continue to disappoint on flat pitches. Ishant Sharma and Vinay Kumar have tried nothing new to contain the Australians on the flat decks and consequently Ishant sat out of the fourth game in Ranchi, paving the way for Mohammad Shami, who impressed immediately. Jaydev Unadkat, coming in for Bhuvneshwar Kumar, was miserly too and as a result, the Indian attack looked a little better. The two new balls have compounded problems for the bowlers but like MS Dhoni keeps on stressing, the bowlers will have to learn to bowl in the death. There is really no other way out.

The batting has been powerful even with Suresh Raina and Yuvraj Singh yet to fire. Rohit Sharma made a huge statement with his match-winning ton in Jaipur, while Virat Kohli has been in phenomenal form. Dhoni of course is India's crisis man with the bat and he showed in Mohali just why he is the most dangerous limited overs batsman in the world today. If India have any concerns besides their death bowling, it's their numbers four and five in the batting line-up. Raina and Yuvraj have been softened up with some serious pace by Mitchell Johnson and the two southpaws will have to find ways to score. If the top order fails, it will be vital for Yuvraj to bring back his magical touch.

Australia:They should have been back home Down Under and preparing for the Ashes instead of playing ODIs in India. Former Australian cricketers have been scathing in their criticism of the ongoing series but George Bailey's men have so far shown the world that they are getting back valuable confidence ahead of the series against England next month. The conditions will be vastly different but at least a series win here would do a world of good to team morale. Besides, the batsmen, Bailey and Glenn Maxwell in particular, have been in great touch while Johnson has been sensational, bowling with pace and accuracy against a star-studded Indian batting line-up.

The surface in Jamtha could well be to Australia's liking, giving them a chance to wrap up the series before heading down south.

Weather: Clear, sunny day with a maximum of 32 degrees Celsius and a minimum of 18 degrees.

Quotes: "It's important to get our match-ups right. When we are bowling against their batsmen, we have got our match-ups right. Mitch Johnson certainly provides a big x-factor for us." - Shane Watson, Australian all-rounder.

"We have come here to win this game and we're not worried too much about Bangalore. At the moment we are worried about winning this game and wrapping it up on Wednesday." Xavier Doherty, Australian spinner.

"It's definitely challenging in terms of what the batsmen are doing. They are going for their shots. They are playing the high risk shots; the credit needs to be given. But as I said we keep trying to devise different strategies and see what we can do." R Ashwin, India spinner.

The incident happened in the 29th over and Jadeja was found to have breached Article 2.1.4 of the ICC Code of Conduct which relates to 'using language or a gesture that is obscene, offensive or insulting during an International Match'.

Rohit Sharma hammered only the third double century in ODIs as India defeated Australia by 57 runs in the seventh and final ODI to win a bilateral series over the visitors for the first time since 1986.

India will yet again rely on their batting firepower as they seek to clinch the one-day series against an equally-determined Australia when the two teams clash in the seventh and final match on Saturday in what promises to be another high-scoring thriller.